


Almost Cinematic

by toasty_coconut



Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:47:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26123734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/toasty_coconut/pseuds/toasty_coconut
Summary: Akko wants nothing more than to give Diana a romantic, movie-like date. Unfortunately for her, rain and a little bit of bad luck seems to follow them around every corner.
Relationships: Diana Cavendish/Atsuko "Akko" Kagari
Comments: 7
Kudos: 77





	Almost Cinematic

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Diakko Week 2020's theme of "rainy day".

The day was absolutely perfect. It was everything that Akko had imagined—just her and Diana together in a rowboat on the lake outside the Cavendish Manor. She had been waiting for a day like this since they had gotten to the manor on spring break earlier that week.

Unfortunately, the forecast had been nothing but rain every day since they had arrived. But that morning the skies finally opened up, giving Akko the chance she had been waiting for to treat her girlfriend to a romantic day out. The thought of the two of them out on the lake together was a romantic scenario Akko had seen in a movie once and was dying to try herself.

So there they were on the shimmering water—the perfect image of romance. Diana sat on one end of the boat, as gracefully as she always did, with her hands folded in her lap. Not a single hair was out of place, and Akko could have sworn the light reflecting from off of the lake’s surface made her skin appear absolutely radiant.

However, the worried look of uncertainty that painted Diana’s face sat in sharp contrast to the rest of the movie-esque scenario.

“Akko, are you all right?”

Akko winced, pushing the oars she held in her hands through the water. Doing this was way harder than the movies made it out to be. Who knew the amount of upper body strength you needed to row a stupid boat?

The humidity that hung in the air, along with the sweat that trickled down her forehead, made Akko’s hair stick to her skin. She was fairly certain that her t-shirt was drenched, too. She would have killed for a gentle breeze, but, unfortunately, Mother Nature didn’t seem interested in obliging.

“Huh? Yeah, I’m fine,” Akko wheezed, stopping her rowing motions to catch her breath. “It’s a little warm, is all. Just… give me a sec.”

“Would you like me to—”

“No!” Akko sat up, grabbing the oars again. “No. I got it. Don’t worry. This was my idea, remember?”

“Yes, I remember. But…” Diana trailed off, glancing around the lake, “why don’t we stop here for now? You appear as if you could use a break. You packed lunch, didn’t you?”

“Oh, yeah! I did!” Akko beamed, scrambling to reach under her seat. “I guess here would be as good a spot as any, right?” She pulled out a pair of packed lunch boxes, handing one of them off to Diana. “Ta-da! Two perfectly made bento for you and me!”

Diana accepted the boxed meal and removed the lid. Stacked inside were several slices of pork cutlet, rice, and some vegetable tempura Akko had prepared earlier that morning. “I must say, I’m impressed, Akko. It looks delicious.”

Akko grinned, wiping away stray beads of sweat with the back of her hand. “They’re all my mom’s recipes! I had trouble deciding what to put in them, so I figured that I’d make us both different ones.”

As if Mother Nature had decided to cut Akko a break, a wave of shade washed over their boat as a breeze picked up. Akko sighed in relief, knowing that this would be the perfect opportunity to cool off, recompose herself, and regain her energy for the remainder of the day.

Diana broke apart the chopsticks Akko had packed for her and picked up a piece of the pork. Her face lit up as she chewed it. “Well, it tastes just as delicious as it looks. I’m sure your mother would be proud.”

Akko swelled with pride. Everything was going exactly according to plan. Romantic lake date? Check. Adorable rowboat? Check. Diana enjoying her lunch? Check. With that, she could enter the next phase—getting Diana to try some of her food out of her hand. She remembered seeing couples do that sort of thing all the time on TV. It was cute, but she had never tried it with Diana before. So, what better place to try than on a romantic lake date?

“Here,” Akko offered, picking up one of the onigiri she had made and holding it out to Diana. “Do you wanna try some of mine?”

Diana laughed lightly, pushing a stray piece of hair behind her ear. It was the type of tiny thing that made Akko’s heart sing.

“I would love t—” Diana paused, blinking as she looked up to the sky. “Huh?”

“What is it?”

“I thought I felt a raindrop.”

“Rain?” Akko furrowed her brows together. “The weather didn’t say anything about—! Hey! I felt it, too!”

Looking up at the sky, Akko noticed how quickly storm clouds had managed to roll in. Another drop of water hit her forehead and she growled, wiping it away.

“Perhaps we should be getting back? I wouldn’t want us to get stuck out here.”

“Aw, c’mon, Diana! You worry too much.” Akko shrugged. She wasn’t about to let a little bit of rain ruin her perfect day. “I’m sure it’s only a passing shower. We’ll be fine!”

Akko reached into her back pocket, a barrier spell would be enough to keep them from getting wet. “Besides, I’ve got my—” She paused. Her pocket was empty. “Uh. Hey, Diana, you don’t have your wand, do you?”

“No, I… I didn’t think I would need it.”

And then it came. It came so suddenly and so hard that Akko almost thought she had imagined it. What was originally a few stray drops had morphed into an all-out downpour in the blink of an eye.

Akko yelped, scrambling for the hoodie she had tied around her waist. “Well, here!” She leaned over, holding the hoodie above Diana’s head. “This’ll keep you dry!”

Diana, who was already well beyond damp at this point, scowled. “Akko!”

“D-don’t worry!” Akko assured, raising her voice so Diana could hear her over the sound of the rain. She clumsily picked the oars back up. “I’ll get us back to land!”

As Akko made the first motion to push the boat through the water, she was greeted by the painful reminder as to why they had taken a break in the first place. Her arms and shoulders ached as she attempted to move the boat to shore as quickly as possible.

“Let me help you!”

“No, no! I’ve got it, I’ve got it! You stay dry!”

Diana deadpanned, dripping with water as Akko’s drenched hoodie sagged against her. “You’re ridiculous, do you know that?!”

That was when it hit her—Akko had seen this in a movie, too. The same movie, actually. While the rain definitely came as a surprise, she could use it to her advantage. It was dramatic, and dramatic was romantic. If she could respond to Diana by saying something heart-throbbing to fit the mood, she’d definitely be left swooning.

Akko stopped rowing, slapping a hand to her chest and mustering the most serious expression she could. “Ridiculous for _you_!”

The rain continued to pour down on them, and Akko glowed with satisfaction at her choice of words. She could practically hear the emotional music building up to its climax in her head. In mere seconds Diana would be reaching over to kiss her. It would be a cinematic memory they’d reflect on for years to come, even when they were old and—

Diana wasn’t on the same page.

“What?” she gawked, obviously not understanding as she did her best to continue using Akko’s hoodie as an umbrella. “I… what?!” She shook it off, pointing to the strip of land nearby. “Akko, just dock the boat there, please!”

Akko winced. Okay, that didn’t go as she had pictured it. Maybe Diana had just missed all of the really obvious atmospheric cues Akko had seen. That was okay, though—she still had a shot to save this.

Deciding it better to simply get off of the lake, Akko pushed them to shore, getting the rowboat as close to land as she could. Once Akko stopped rowing, Diana sighed, rising from her seat.

Akko was quick to jump up. “Wait! I’ll help you!”

The boat rocked beneath them, and Diana yelped, holding onto the edge to keep herself from tripping. Akko ignored the unsteadiness of the boat and instead chose to step out. As she did, her foot caught on the edge. She tripped, her face meeting the gravel and sand below.

“Akko!”

“Ow…” Akko winced, sitting upright and rubbing her nose. It was throbbing, but there didn’t seem to be any blood, thankfully.

“Are you all right?!”

Akko jumped back to her feet, holding out a hand to Diana. “N-never better!”

Diana stared at her skeptically before taking her hand. With Akko’s help, she stepped onto land. The two pulled the boat in further to keep it from drifting back off into the lake. As they did, a roar of thunder clapped above, causing Akko to jump in alarm.

“Let’s take cover under those trees until it lets up a little,” Diana advised, pointing to the treeline nearby. “I don’t want us walking back to the manor in this.”

Akko nodded in agreement, and the pair ran for cover beneath the safety of the trees. While not ideal, the trees did give them a bit of protection from the ongoing storm. At the very least, they wouldn’t be struck by lightning.

Probably.

Well, with Akko’s luck, maybe.

She tried not to think about that.

“At least we’re cooled off now, right?” Akko laughed nervously, scratching her throbbing nose.

Diana rolled her eyes, glancing at Akko with an amused smile. “Yes, at least we have that going for us.”

Okay, Diana didn’t seem _mad_. She could work with that. This date was still salvageable. Now that they were out of the water and under the safety of the foliage, perhaps she could do something about that ‘dramatic rain moment’ she had been going for earlier.

The two of them stuck in the rain, under a tree on some fancy rich person’s property… She had seen that in a movie once, too—a different movie.

“ _So_ ,” Akko started, bumping her shoulder against Diana’s, “I guess this is sort of romantic in its own way.”

Diana raised a brow at her, ringing some of the water out of her hair. “Romantic, how, exactly?”

Akko shrugged. “You. Me. Stuck in the rain. Under all these trees. Romantic.”

“I still think I’d rather be dry.”

“And I still think it’s romantic! Live a little, Diana!”

“Okay, then. I’ll humor you,” Diana teased, crossing her arms. “Romance me.”

“What?”

“You said it’s romantic.” Diana motioned to the pouring rain beyond the trees. “I fail to see the appeal. So, romance me.”

Akko pursed her lips, her face flushing. She hadn’t been expecting a challenge. She curled her fists at her sides. “I… I’m going to!” she declared. Diana was unmoved. “I’ll romance you so hard you’ll be seeing stars!”

“I’m waiting, then.”

This was going to be easy. Kissing in the rain was practically romance 101. It wrote itself. All she needed to do was grab her and kiss her—kiss her _hard_. Between the kiss, the tense atmosphere, and the rain pouring down, it would make for the perfect romantic moment. Akko inhaled sharply through her nose, grabbing Diana by the shoulders.

Diana blinked, her gaze meeting Akko’s. Pink dusted her cheeks and Akko tightened her grip. She wasn’t sure what she was nervous for—she had kissed Diana plenty of times in the past, this should have been nothing. Maybe it was the pressure of the need for it to be _extra_ romantic that was getting to her.

Akko shook the thought away. She was thinking about it too much. Diana was waiting, and she just needed to kiss her. She leaned in closer, practically able to feel Diana’s breath against her skin. She closed her eyes, heat rising up to her ears.

The same music she had heard in her head before began to swell to its climax again. This was finally it. She was going to blow Diana away and leave her wanting more. She could feel the rain trickling down her face—the perfect added effect to their kiss.

Now all she had to do was— 

“Akko! Your nose!”

The music came to a screeching halt. Akko’s eyes fluttered open. Diana was staring at her, horrified. Akko raised a brow, lifting a hand to touch her nose. When she pulled it away, the red liquid that coated her fingertips made it very obvious as to why Diana was so alarmed.

That wasn’t rain trickling down her face.

“Oh, _come on_!”

* * *

Akko sat on the bed in Diana’s room, a bag of ice pressed to her bruised nose. She put the bag down beside her, touching her nose to make sure the bleeding had stopped. She sighed with relief at the lack of blood.

After her miserable failure at a kiss in the rain, Diana had rushed Akko back to the manor. Anna had fetched them some dry clothes and ice for Akko’s injury. She supposed she had fallen harder than she realized when trying to help Diana out of the boat. Basically, the entire day had been a colossal failure.

Stupid rain.

Stupid nose.

Stupid movies.

“How’s your nose doing?”

“Hm?” Akko blinked, watching as Diana entered the room holding a couple of fresh towels. She waved her off. “Oh, it’s okay. I think the ice helped.”

Diana stood still for a moment, looking her girlfriend up and down. She placed the towels on the bed beside her. “You know, if you leave your hair like that, you’re going to catch a cold.”

“I’m fine, don’t worry about it.”

“I worry,” Diana dismissed, crouching down in front of Akko and picking up a towel. Akko avoided meeting her gaze as Diana used the towel to gently dry off her hair, which was still soaking wet from the rain. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong.”

“Akko.”

“Ugh,” Akko groaned, peering at Diana from beneath the towel. “I’m just… a little bummed about our date… I guess.”

“It’s not a big deal.” Diana continued rubbing the towel over the top of Akko’s head. “You couldn’t have predicted the weather. We can always try again tomorrow.”

“It’s not that.” Akko shook her head. “I guess it always feels like I’m messing this kind of stuff up somehow.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I was hoping that today I could really…sweep you off your feet, I guess. You know, take your breath away like they do in the movies and stuff,” Akko explained, sheepishly twiddling her thumbs. “I just think… you deserve something like that.” She let out a long, tired breath. “But I can’t do those kinds of things without messing them up.”

Diana slowly stopped, allowing the towel to drape around Akko’s neck. She gave her a small smile, placing a hand to her cheek. “Life isn’t like the movies, Akko. Sometimes we mess things up—and that’s what makes it interesting.” She leaned in, placing a soft kiss on Akko’s nose. “Besides, doing things like that wouldn’t be you. You take my breath away simply by being yourself.”

Akko scrunched her nose, her heart skipping a beat. It was amazing how Diana was always able to turn her mood around with a few simple words. Even after a miserable day like the one they had, Diana was still able to leave her feeling lighter. It was almost as if nothing else mattered at all.

She still wanted a win today, though.

By God, she still wanted to take Diana’s breath away. Rain, nose injuries, and movies be damned, she was going to sweep this girl off her feet even if it killed her. If she couldn’t give Diana a dramatic kiss in the rain, then she would give her a dramatic kiss from right where she sat—bruised nose and all.

There was no rowboat. There was no rain. There was no dramatic speech. There was no music playing. There was only her and Diana, soaking wet after a miserable attempt at a date.

But that was all she needed.

Grabbing the back of Diana’s neck, Akko quickly pulled her in and pressed her lips against Diana’s—hard. Diana let out a muffled squeak of surprise, and Akko could feel the heat rising in Diana’s face. But it didn’t take long for her to ease up, resting a hand on Akko’s shoulder and reciprocating the kiss.

Maybe it wasn’t the perfect, cinematic moment that Akko had imagined their day concluding on, but it was something. If there was one thing Akko knew she could do just as good as the people in the movies, it was kiss her girlfriend—even if it wasn’t on a boat or in the rain. But if it was enough to surprise Diana, even in the smallest way possible, it was good enough for her.

After another few seconds, Akko inched away, offering Diana a lopsided smile. “Sorry.” She shrugged. “But I wanted to get something right today.”

Diana was at a loss for words, glowing bright red as she attempted to shake her surprise away. She cleared her throat, straightening herself out. “Well… That was certainly…” She paused, her face paling as it fell. “A… Akko!”

Akko’s smile didn’t falter, even as she felt liquid running out of her nostrils and down her chin. “My nose is bleeding again, isn’t it?”

Maybe Akko’s life couldn’t be like the movies, but she supposed she could make do with a blooper reel.

* * *

_End._

**Author's Note:**

> Can you guess which two movies Akko was referring to?


End file.
